The Aesthetics of Violent Moving Images

Abstract

Physical violence reveals the fragility of human bodies and the vulnerability of our world. At the same time, physical violence reveals the power of the body by demonstrating the various ways in which one person may be harmed by another person. Interestingly, realistic moving images of interpersonal corporeal violence portraying this graphic and gruesome destruction are produced and consumed in mass. As such, the ubiquity of violent moving images obliges a deeper analysis to understand the phenomenon of the appeal of viewing violence. My dissertation is an effort to explicate the aesthetics of violent moving images in order to proffer a more complete explanation for the allure of a specific kind of violent imagery I call realist strong violent moving images. It will become evident that realist strong violent moving images provide a unique phenomenological experience that other kinds of violent moving images do not afford. Realist strong violent moving images ontologically fail to be reliable evidence of real live violent events, but also fail to be sufficiently obscure to provide mere mindless or thrilling entertainment. However, realist strong violent moving images afford the possibility of satisfying a desire for self-inflicted violence. As such, a deeper understanding of the allure of realist strong violent moving images provides a fuller explanation of the allure of viewing violence and moves us toward a better understanding of the allure of actual violence.